Apparatus for setting snap fasteners upon envelopes



March 26, 1957 J. P. TREcloKAs 2,786,203

APPARATUS FOR SETTING SNAP FASTENERS UPON ENVELOPES ATTORNEY March 26,1957 J..P. TREcloKAs 2,786,203 APPARATUSFOR SETTING SNAP FASTENERS UPONENvELoPEs Filed Nov. 25, 195:5 l s sheets-sheet 2' Env/772| Y 771e: a9-6' 47 722; i ik v 4,9 INVENTOR '4 Jacao P. Treclokas la svga-Ng? o ,4Q

7.8 ATTORNEY March 26,v 1957 P; 'rREcloKAs 2,786,203

APPARATUS Foa SETTING SNAP FAs'rENEns UPON ENvELoPEs 5 Sheets-Sheet 5Filed Nov. 25, 1953 lNvEN-roR /-llf JacohB Truinkas Y B W" ATTORNEYnited States Patent APPARATUS FOR SETTHG SNAP FASTENERS UPN ENVELOPESJacob P. Treciokas, Oakville, Conn., assigner to Scovill ManufacturingCompany, Waterbury, Conn., a specially chartered corporation ofConnecticut Application November 25, 1953, Serial No. 394,392

11 Claims. (Cl. 1-120) This invention relates to apparatus 'forattaching complemental snap fastener elements to envelopes of the typeadapted for repeated use.

Heretofore when snap fasteners were attached to envelopes the socket andstud elements were customarily set on their respective parts of theenvelope separately and by diiferent machines, or if set simultaneouslythe flap to which one of the elements was attached was in an extendedposition so that when the flap was folded against the back for closingthe envelope it was very diiiicult to assure that the complementalfastener elements would line up with each other.

ln the disclosed apparatus the complemental snap fastener elements areset simultaneously upon their respective parts of the envelope inaligned position so that when the ap is folded over to close theenvelope the complemental fastener elements will always properly alignwith each other.

This apparatus involves the use of complemental stud and socket elementswhich are formed with prongs prou jecting out of their ybase by means ofwhich the elements are attached to their respective parts of theenvelope.

The particular stud and socket elements adapted for use Ion an envelopefor repeated use are designed with integral prongs that project from thebase of the elements in the same direction as the fastener-engagingIparts of said elements. By the use of this type of snap -fastenerconstruction the elements can be attached directly to an envelopewithout the use of rivets, posts or similar attaching devices.

The envelopes to which the fasteners are to be attached are furnishedwith their iiaps in an extended position and the mode of operation ofthe apparatus involves the operation of first folding the flap backtoward the front of the envelope and then inserting the envelope into ajig for holding the envelope in a definite position relative to thesetting station of an attaching machine, said jig having means to holdthe flap in an inclined or spaced position relative to the envelopefront and also holding the pocket of the envelope in an open position.Next, the fastener elements are positioned relative to the envelope sothat one of the elements will be disposed between the ap and theenvelope front with its fastener-engaging part directed toward the flap,and the other element will `be disposed within the envelope pocket withits fastenerengaging part directed toward the envelope back and bothelements in aligned position with each other after which they may beclinched to their respective parts of the envelope.

Another object of this invention is to pierce out an opening in theenvelope ap and back by means of the conjoint action of the fastenerelements and setting tools coincident with the setting operation, thuseliminating the need of pre-piercing the envelope to accommodate thefastener-engaging parts of the stud and socket elements.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be pointed 4out inthe detailed description thereof which follows or will be apparent fromsuch description.

'ice

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a fastener setting machineembodying the invention and showing the machine in its normal inactiveposition.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the same.

Fig. 3 is a plan View of the lower anvil plates and associated jawelements of the machine.

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view through the anvil part of thelower anvil plates taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a similar sectional View taken along the line 5--5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view similar to Fig. 2 but showing thesetting tools as they appear at the end of the setting stroke.

Fig. 7 is a horizontal sectional View of the machine taken along theline '7 7 of Fig. 1 looking downwardly.

Fig. 8 is a plan and sectional view of the upper anvil and jaw unit.

Fig. 9 is a back view of the same.

Fig. 10 is a vertical sectional view through the lower setting punch andanvil showing the stud and prongs ments which are applied to the ap andback of thel envelope.

Fig. 18 is a plan view of the open end of the envelopev in open positionshowing the fastener elements attached thereto.

Fig. 19 is a `similar view showing the envelope in closed position, and

Fig. 2() is a cross-sectional view of the fastener elements as appliedto the envelope taken along line 20-20 of Fig. 19.

The particular type of snap fastener element that this invention isadapted to set upon a clasp type or reusable envelope is best shown inFig. 17 and consists of a socket element itl and a stud element 11. Thesocket 10 has a flat base 12 preferably of square shape having anannular series of spring fingers 13 formed upwardly out of the center ofthe base and also attaching prongs 14 sheared out of the hase and bentupwardly in the same direction as the spring fingers 13. The stud 11likewise is provided with a square base 15 having a central stud head 16and attaching prongs 17 projecting upwardly from the base in the samedirection as the stud head.

A conventional reusable envelope 1S is shown in Figs. 18 and 19 having afront section 18a, a back section 18b, and a llap 13C, that is foldablealong a fold line 18d.

As shown in Fig. 2O the socket 10 and stud 11 are attached respectivelyto the envelope ilap 18C and back section lb. Specifically the socket1t) is attached to ilap 18C with the base 12 disposed on the outside ofthe flap and the fingers 13 projecting through a hole' 74a in the ilapthat is self-pierced therethrough by the ngers 13 coincident with thesetting operation. At the same time the prongs 14 are pierced throughthe flap stock and bent over against the flap 1Stfrom the undersidethereof. The stud 11 is attached to the envelope back 18h with its base15 disposed against the inside of said envelope back with its stud head16 projecting through an opening 18f also selfpierced by said head andheld in position yby having the prongs 17 pierced therethrough andclinched againstI the outside of said envelope back.

One form of machine for assembling the socket and stud elements to areusable envelope in the manner as above described is disclosed inJFigs. l to l2 inclusive. This invention is embodied in a power-drivenfastener setting machine consisting essentially of a base 2li, astandard or upright frame 2l, supporting a head 22 in which isreciprocally mounted an upper setting plunger 23 operated by a bellcrank lever 2f; pivoted on the standard 2l as at 25. The bell cranklever 2d may be operated from the power shaft of the machine in the u lmanner.

Attached to the front end of the base i is a bearing block 26 andthrough the block 26 and base is a common hole 27 within which isslidably fitted the lower die unit or setting tool 2S. Attached to theupper surface of the bearing block 26 is a guide plate 29 thatfacilitates the feeding of the envelope into the machine.

Lower anvil and jaw imi! The lower anvil member for upsetting the prongsof one of the fastener elements in attaching the same to the envelopeback is best seen in Figs. 3, 4, 5, 7 and l2 and in this particular'machine the lower anvil serves to set the stud element ll. This anvilmember hereinafter referred to as the stationary anvil consists of abifnrcated plate 30, each part of which has its inner end secured on theterminal end of a feed track i7 by screws 3h51, and the feed track 47 inturn is mounted between a pair of support brackets 31 and securedthereto as by screws 37. The brackets 31 are mounted on base Ztl as byscrews 38. rThe anvil plates 3? are mounted so that they can pivot in ahorizontal plane about the screws and extend forwardly to overle thelower die unit Z3 and terminate in converging extensions 3% which inturn support rearward extensions Sile in side-by-side relationship. Theextensions Eile are in fact the anvil proper of the anvil plates 3i?against the underside of which the stud base is supported during thesetting operation. The anvil portions Stic of the plates 3u areseparated by a dividing line 32 so as to permit the forwarl ends of saidanvil plate to separate slightly for reasons as will be described later.The anvil portions 355C are normally held in closed position along thedividing line 32 by a tension coil spring 33 secured to the uppersurface the plates 30 by stud pins 34%. in order to assure that theanvil portions 30e of the plates 3o cannot swing inwardly beyond thedivision line 32 each support bracket 3i is provided with a pair ofupwardly extending lugs 35 in which adjusting screws 36 are threaded andengage the outer. sides of the plates 3u slightly to the rear of thepivot screws Sila. By this arrangement the screws 36 can be adjusted tolimit the inward swing of the anvil portions 30e of said anvil plates39.

A pair of elongated guide lingers or jaws are pivotally attached to theinside edges of the anvil plates 3@ as by screws 41 and said screws aremounted so that said fingers can swing in a slight divergingrelationship of substantially 12 from the vertical for reasons as willappear later that is, the axes of said screws incline slightly upwardlyfrom the horizontal toward the vertical central plane of the machine.ri`he inside adjacent edges of the 'lingers are provided with taperedgrooves d2 through which the edges of the stud elements ll are guided ontheir way to the setting station.

In order to provide a slight binding action upon the fastener elementsas they arev fed 'to the setting station through the linger grooves e2,the tingers itl are mounted to have a small amount of lateral play bythe relatively loose manner in which the linger-attaching screws lil aremounted within their respective sockets in the plates 3d. The front endsof the fingers it? are loosely conned within slots 43 in the plates Filthat limit the lateral movement of said lingers. it will be noted fromFigs. 4 5 that the bearing surfaces of the plates 3o, the slots and thelingers 40 are biased upwardly in an outward direction to conform to thediverging swinging motion Y the upper surfaces of the lingers ofthelingers for the purpose of spreading the outwardly to release thefastener element from the finger ends when the latter are swung upwardlyduring the fastener setting operation. The forward ends of the fingersdi? are normally biased inwardly by leaf springs 44 disposed between theadjacent surfaces of the plates 30 and Jiaws 4G, the springs being heldin place by pins 45 mounted in said plates 3i?. In swinging the ends ofthe fingers upwardly to release the fastener elements they are pivotedagainst the inuence of spring fingers secured `2o the top of the platesStrand' tensioned against The feed lingers as seen in Fig. 7 are lined.up with a feed track d? supported on brackets 31 and through which thefastener elements can be fed tol the fingers into the setting station bya pusher slide d8.

Envelope jig fixture rl`he mechanism for holding the envelope incentralized position relative to the setting station and also to holdthe envelope flap bent backwardly toward the envelope front during thefastener setting operation best seen in Figs. l and 7 and consists of apair of support rods preferably square in cross section extendinghorizontally outwardly from the opposite sides of the frame 2l.. Siidably mounted on the rods 5? are brackets 5l held in adjusted position bythumb screws Sla. Formed as an integral part of the brackets 5l areforwardly ding support arms 52 having straight sections 52u t ating inconverging sections SEI; that are disposed slightly f rwardly of theanvil plates 36. The brackets 5t are adapted to be adjusted laterallyalong the rods 5t) that the straight arm sections may be positioned tosuhstan` tially the width of the envelope pocket to permit the envelopeto be slipped over said sections 52a (shown in dot-and-dash outline inFig. 7) and centralise the envelope relatively to the setting station ofthe machine. it should beV understood that the brackets 5i' can also beadjusted laterally so as to accommodate different sizes of envelopes.

A pair of flap-positioning arms 53 are adiustabiy mounted upon thebrackets 5l. above the arms 52 extend forwardly and terminate inupwardly extending lugs 53a to which are secured adjustable fingers 5'as by screws 55. The lingers 54 may be pivotally adiusted about thescrews 55 to the desired position that the envelope iiap should be setwhen the envelope is inserted into the machine. The arms 53 are securedto the upper surfaces of the brackets Si by a thumb screw 56 threadedinto brackets 51, and the arms 53 are provided with elongated slots5.3.5 so that said arms 53' and the lingers 54 may be adjusted parallelto the horizontal axis of the machine and at the desired distancerearwardly or forwardly of the setting station of the machine.

Lower setting tool unit The lower setting tool unit 28 (see Figs. 2 andl0) consists of a cup-shaped plunger housing 60 operatingr within thehole 27. A gear rack 61 is formed on the outer surface of the housing 60and engaged by a sector gear 62 on the end of lever 63 pivoted at 64 inbrackets 31. The lever 63 may be operated by a suitable cam on the maindrive shaft of the machine. A setting die 65 is rigidly secured withinthe housing 60 and a spring cushioned sleeveA 66 isl slidably fittedwithin said die 65. The upper face of the die 6.5 is formed with anannular groove 65a for bending and clinching the prong-s 17 of the stud11 and is normally disposed a slight distance below the upper end of thecushioned sleeve 66. The travel of the sleeve 66, within the die 65, iscontrolled by an elongated recess 66a in the exterior wall of saidsleeve and within which recess across pin 67 is engaged= the latterbeingdriven into a suitable opening in die 65. The sleeve 66 operates againstthe influence of a coiled spring 68` confined withinr the hollow of saiddie 65.

The upper end of the sleeve 66 is provided with an opening 66h of a sizeto snugly t about the head of the stud element 11 and serves with saidstud head 16 to shear out a round blank 18e and provide a. hole lSf inthe envelope back 13b to accommodate the stud head when the latter isforced against the envelope stock co incident with the settingoperation. The blank 18e sheared out of the envelope stock may beejected through a tube 69 attached to the interior of the sleeve 66 andextending through a clearance opening 69a in the lower end of thesetting die 65 and plunger housing at?.

Upper setting tool unit The upper setting tool unit (Fig. ll) consistsof a setting die 70 having an upper reduced shank 70a which is tted intoa socket 23a in the plunger 23 and held in place by a set screw 7l. Thedie 76 is formed with a lower bore '7011 and an upper bore 70e ofreduced diameter that provides a shoulder 76d therebetween. The lowerend or the die 76 is formed with an annular recess 70e that serves tobend and clinch the prongs 14 of the socket element l@ against theenvelope flap during the setting operation. Within the lower larger bore7Gb is slidably fitted a plunger sleeve 72 having its outer end normallyextended a slight distance beyond the lower end of the die 70. r[henormal position of sleeve 72 within the die bore 7Gb is determined by aslot 72a in the side wall thereof and cross pin 73 secured in die 70 andtraversing said slot 72a. rl`he plunger sleeve 72 serves to press theenvelope stock downwardly upon the socket and force the prongs 14thereof through the envelope material and at the same time cooperatewith the socket fingers 13 to pierce out a blank 74 in the envelopestock and provide an opening 74a therein through which the socketfingers may project. rhe sleeve 72 is moved inwardly against the theinfluence of a relatively strong coil spring 75 having its inner endseated against a washer 76 which in turn is seated against the shoulder70d at the inner end of the larger bore 79h. An ejector sleeve '77 isslidably iitted within the plunger sleeve 72 and has an enlarged head77a at its inner end, which is normally seated against the upper surfaceof the washer 76, the latter extending inwardly of the smaller die bore70C. Inwardly of the ejector sleeve 77 is a socket sizing tool 78 thattravels with the die 7d and is provided with an enlarged head 75a eatedagainst the base of the smaller die bore 70C and held in place by across pin 7819 fixed to said die 70. A relatively light coil spring 79is compressed between the sizing tool head ien and the ejector sleevehead 77a to normally hold said sleeve in its projected state. Thedetails of the operation of this upper die unit will be given later indescribing the machine operations.

Upper movabie anvil and jaws for socket The mechanism for picking up thesocket element l@ from the feed track and conveying it underneath theenvelope ilap at the setting station of the machine is best seen inFigs. l, 2, 6, 8 and 9. This mechanism consists of--an L-shaped anvilmember Si) having its upright leg 80a pivotally mounted between a pairof projecting lugs 81a formed as an integral part of support bracket 81as by a pin 62. The bracket 8l. in turn is secured to the lower ends ofa pair of cam plates 83 slidably mounted on the outer surface of a pairof extension bars 84 which in turn are secured to the opposite sides ofthe machine head 22. The lower horizontal leg 86h is the upper anvilplate for setting the socket to the envelope flap and normally extendsunderneath the upper setting plunger 23 in line with a socket feed track5 through which the socket elements itl may be fed singly by a pusherslide 86. in order to hold the socket l@ upon the anvil plate 8012 whileconveying the socket from the feed track to the setting station, a pairof jaws 37 are pivotally connected in slots 80e provided in the anvilmember 80. As noted 6 in Fig. 9 the slots 80e are slanted downwardlyandoutwardly relative to the vertical axis of the anvil member so as tocause the jaws 87 to swing downwardly and out-- wardly for the purposeof releasing the socket element l@ during the setting operation. Thejaws 87 are so mounted in the slots 89e as to permit some amount oflateral play to accommodate the tolerances allowed in the constructionof the socket and are normally urged inwardly against the inclinedopposite walls d of the anvil plate Stil: by leaf springs 88 (see Fig.8). In order to hold the socket gripping ends of the jaws 87 upwardlyrelative to the anvil plate 80b the outer ends of said jaws are formedwith upwardly extending ngers 87a that are normaliy urged outwardly bycoil springs 89 seated in suitable recesses in the adjacent face of theanvil member 80.

ie anvil member d() is mounted on pin 82 so as to pivot outwardlyrelative to the bracket 81 and is normally held against the outer faceof said bracket 81 by a thumb screw gil. From Fig. l it will be notedthat the thumb screw 9i) is normally positioned crosswise of a slot 8deprovided in the upper leg of the anvil member Sti. By turning the screw90 so that its head aligns with slot Sti@ the anvil member may be hingedoutwardly about the pin 32 in order to provide better access to thesetting station of the machine.

ln order to laterally adjust the anvil member 80 so that the anvil plateZibb can be properly adjusted to line up with the feed track 8S, a pairof opposite set screws 9i are threaded in the bracket lugs 81a and areadapted to engage the opposite edges of said anvil member 80.

As pointed out previously the anvil member 80 and associated jaws $7 areadapted to pick up the socket 10 from the feed track S5 and convey it tothe setting station underneath the envelope flap. This control of theanvil member is derived from the cam plates 83. Asshown in Figs. 2 and 6the cam plates are formed with the slots 53a that cooperate with guidebolts 92 mounted on the extension bars dit. To hold the cam plates 83against the sides of the extension bars 84 and also to provide someamo-unt of friction to the cam plates a fibre washer 93 surrounds eachbolt 92 and is compressed against said plates by compression springs 94.

rIhe cam plates 33 are operated by a slip connection with the upperplunger- 23. This slip connection is obtained by a split block 9S andintegral sleeve 95a frictionally embracing the plunger 23. The camplates 83 are provided with extensions S312 having trunnion connections83C with the split block 95. The frictional grip between the split block95 and sleeve 95a with the plunger 23 may be controlled by an adjustingscrew 96 transversely threaded in the split portieri of said block.

ln order to control the amount of travel of the upper anvil member 80and associated mechanism a cross bar 97 is rigidly secured to the upperends of the extension bars 34. An adjustable set screw 9S is threaded inthe cross bar 97 preferably in a plane common with the vertical axis ofthe setting station and may be held in ad'- justed position by a locknut 98a. The set screw 98 is adapted to be abutted by the head ofanother set screw 99 adjustably mounted in the split block 95 and heldin adjusted position by lock nut 99a and serves to limit the upwardtravel of the anvil member 80. rThe second set screw 99 is adapted tocontact the upper face of the machine head 22 as at 22a (see Fig. 1) tocontrol the amount of downward travel of the upper anvil member 80.

Operation ln the operation of the machine involved in setting snapfasteners upon a reusable envelope, the envelope to be fed into themachine will usually be taken from the stack of envelopes in which theflaps of the envelopes will normally be in an extended position such asshown in Fig. 13. The tirst step isl to manually fold the ap 181.` ofthe envelope out of the plane of the envelope back toward the envelopefront 18a so as to initiate. a fold along the scoredv line 18d. Byslightly compressing the sidesl of the: envelope, inwardly the envelopepocket will be opened up suiciently so that the envelope can be slippedover the converging ends 52]) of the jig support arms 52 andl assembledover the lower anvil plates 3i? to a positive stop which is determinedby the folded edge of the envelope abutting the end lugs 53a of theflappositioning arms 53 as shown in Fig. 14 and in dot-anddash outlinein Fig. 7.

Because of the timing element involved in this machine it is necessaryto feed a single socket element Ml and stud element 11 from a magazinechute (not shown) in the upper and lower feed tracks S and 47respectively and advance said elements in their respective tracks by thepusher slides 36 and 4S to a position adjacent the upper and lower dieunits during the end stroke of a prior cycle of operations. The relativeposition of the elements at the endV of a previous stroke is shown indotted outline in Fig. 2.

When the envelope is assembled into the machine as described above themachine may be set into motion. During the first portion of an operationcycle the socket and stud elements and 11 will be further advanced inthe feed tracks and pushed respectively into the jaws S7 and of theupper anvil member Sil and lower anvil plates 3i) in alignment with thesetting station of the machine. During the first period of the operationcycle the plunger 23 will move upwardly a slight amount so as to permitthe upper pusher slide 86 to advance its complete distance withoutinterference.

During the next portion of the operation cycle the upper anvil member byreason of the cam plates 83 and their connection with the plunger 23will convey the ,4

socket downwardly and outwardly to clear the free edge of the envelope.flap 18C and thence under said hap to the position as shown in Figs. 6and l5. ln this position the upper anvil member 80 will contact theenvelope front 18a and compress it against the lower anvil plates 30,and both the upper anvil member @il and the lower anvil plates 30 serveto back up each other during the fastener setting operation. The upperanvil member S0 will remain ina stationary position as the upper plunger23 descends to set the socket upon the envelope ap due to contact of setscrew 99 with machine head 22, the slip connection of block on plunger23 permitting this effect.

During the period of the setting operation, the plunger sleeve 72 of theupper die unit will contact the envelope I ap as held in biased positionby the lingers 5- and press the same downwardly against the upper edgeof the socket fingers 13. Continued downward motion of the sleeve 72 inconjunction with the socket fingers i3 will shear out the blank 74, thusself-piercing an opening in the envelope ap to accommodate the socketfingers. At the same time the flap will be forced against the socketprongs causing the latter to pierce through the flap as seen in Fig. 1land leave the blank 7d resting on top of the socket lingers. When theenvelope iiap is pressed firmly against the socket base 12 with thelatter resting on the anvil plate 80h the plunger sleeve 72, will cometo rest while the setting die 70 continues its downward stroke causingthe pointed ends of the socket prongs id to engage'ingthe, die recessy70e and bend them outwardly and downwardly against the upper face of theenvelope flap to permanently secure the socket thereto. lt will beunderstood that this upper face of the envelope iap will become theinner face of the flap when the latter is folded back in normallyenvelope closing position. During this period during which die "iiiturns over the prongs 1 4 `the vsizing tool 78 will continue to descendwith the die and pierce out a smaller blank 74k and force it down intothe socket fingers 13 and leave only an annular ring Lit) 8 74c theremains of the original blank 74 resting on top of the socketV fingers13 (see Fig. 16).

During the same period as described for the setting operation of theupper die the lower die unit 28 will be moved upwardly by the lever 63.This upward motion of the lower die unit will rst cause the cushionedsleeve 66 to contact the envelope back 18h forcing the same against thestud head 16 and in conjunction with said head pierce out a blank 18eand provide a suitable hole f in the envelope back to permit the studhead to be inserted therethrough. At the same time the envelope backwill be forced against the stud prongs 17 causing the latter to piercethrough the envelope material as the sleeve 66 rises to seat theenvelope stock against the stud oase i5 (see Fig. l0) after which theupwrad motion of the sleeve 66 will rest while the setting die continuesto rise causing the stud prongs 17 to be rolled outwardly and downwardlyagainst the outside of the envelope back.

During this period it will be understood that the inside surface of theenvelope back and the stud base 15 will rest against the lower anvilplates 30. The blanks 18e which are pierced out of the envelope materialare ejected through the tube 6%.

During the end period of the operation cycle the lower die unit 28 willbe withdrawn downwardly and the upper die unit will be withdrawnupwardiy. During this iinal operation of the upper die unit the ejectorsleeve 77 will function to force the socket finger 13 off of the sizingtool FS and eject the socket it) and ring 74C of envelope stock out ofthe plunger sleeve 72. At the same time the anvil member titl will beretracted from underneath the envelope flap ic and drawn upwardly andmoved inwardly to the position as shown in Fig. 2 where the jaws 87carried by said member Si) will line up with the socket feed track 35.Upward motion of the anvil member 80 will be stopped by the head of theset screw 99 abutting the screw 9S. The plunger 23 will continue to riseuntil it is clear of the jaws 37. The nal period of the cycle of theoperation will move the upper pusher slide 86 and lower pusher slide 43to advance respectively the socket it) and stud 1li from the dotted lineposition as seen in Fig. 2 into fingers 87 and 4t) in line with thesetting station.

After the machine has completed its full cycle of operations theenvelope to which the fastener elements have just been set may bemanually removed from the jig support arms and another envelope insertedready for the next cycle of operations.

The small blank 74h and ring 74C sheared out of the envelope flap willfor the most part be discarded from the machine in the act of removingthe envelope just operated upon.

ince various equivalent forms of construction will be apparent to thosepersons skilled in the art, it is his intention that the presentinvention should be interpreted as covering all modiiications andequivalents within the scope and spirit of the attached claims.

What l claim is:

l. in a machine for attaching complementary snap fastener elements to anenvelope wherein the fastener elements carry their own attaching prongsand the envelope flap is folded back toward the envelope front for thesetting operation, an anvil and setting punch for each of said fastenerelements arranged in axial alignment with each other, means for feedingone of said elements into the envelope pocket with the fastener prongsdirected outwardly toward the envelope back, means for feeding the otherelement between the envelope front and flap with the prongs directedtoward the envelope flap, and means for moving each of said punchestoward their respective anvils for attaching the complementary elementsto the envelope flap and back respectively.

2. ln a machine for attaching complementary snap fastener elements to anenvelope the combination as dened in claim 1 wherein means are providedin the punches cooperating with the detachable engaging parts of thefastener elements for self-piercing the envelope stock coincident withthe fastener setting operation.

3. In a machine for attaching complementary snap fastener elements to anenvelope wherein the fastener elements carry their own attaching prongsand the envelope ap is folded back toward the envelope front for thesetting operation, a stationary anvil adapted to have the open end ofthe envelope telescoped thereover, means for feeding one of saidelements along the underside of said anvil to the setting station of themachine, a lower setting tool operated upwardly from the underside ofsaid anvil, a feed track for conveying a complemental element, a movableupper anvil normally positioned in line with such feed track, holdingjaws associated with said movable anvil, means for feeding saidcomplemental fastener element into said jaws, means for moving saidmovable anvil downwardly to convey said complemental element to aposition underneath the envelope ap in line with the setting station, anupper setting tool and means for simultaneously moving the upper andlower setting tools axially toward each other and in conjunction withsaid movable and stationary anvils serving to set said complementaryfastener elements on said envelope ap and back respectively.

4. In a snap fastener attaching machine the combination as defined inclaim 3 wherein jig means is provided for locating the envelope indenite relationship to the stationary anvil.

5. In a snap fastener attaching machine, the combination as dened inclaim 3 wherein means are provided for imparting an outward and inwardmovement to said upper anvil during its downward movement, whereby saidupper anvil may carry its fastener element under the folded flap of theenvelope.

6. In a machine for attaching complementary snap fastener elements to anenvelope wherein the fastener elements carry their own attaching prongsand the envelope flap is foldd back toward the envelope front for thesetting operation, a lower stationary anvil adapted to have the envelopetelescoped thereover, an upper movable anvil, means associated with eachof said anvils for holding the complemental fastener elements in linewith the setting station of the machine, means for feeding said fastenerelements into the anvil holding means, means for moving said uppermovable anvil to a position to deposit one fastener element underneaththe envelope ap adjacent the lower stationary anvil, and upper and lowersetting 10 tools cooperating with the upper and lower anvils tosimultaneously set the complementary fastener elements on the envelopeflap and back respectively in line with each other.

7. In a machine for attaching complementary snap fastener elements to anenvelope, the combination as defined in claim 6 wherein the fastenerholding means associated with the anvil are a pair of jaws for eachanvil, which jaws operate to move away from the setting station axisduring the setting operation for the purpose of releasing the jaw holdon the fastener elements.

8. In a machine for attaching complementary snap fastener elements to anenvelope, the combination as defined in claim 6 wherein the uppersetting tool is carried on the end of a vertically reciprocating plungerand the means for operating the upper movable anvil comprises a camelement operated by a friction connection with said plunger.

9. In a machine for attaching complementary snap fastener elements to anenvelope as defined in claim 8 wherein means is provided to limit thedistance of travel of the movable anvil as compared to the full lengthof travel of said plunger.

l0. A fastener setting tool for setting snap fastener elements havingintegral prongs extending in the same direction from the fastener baseas the fastener-engaging part of said element, which tool comprises adie sleeve having means for attachment to a reciprocating plunger, saidsleeve having an annular end formed to upset the fastener prongs, and acushion sleeve slidably fitted within said die sleeve for limitedslidable movement therein, spring means urging said cushion sleeveoutwardly to a stop position wherein one end projects beyond theupsetting end of the die sleeve and functions to force the prongs of thefastener through the material to which the fastener is attached.

11. A fastener setting tool as defined by claim 10 wherein the cushionsleeve coacts with the fastener-engaging part of the element to pierceout an opening in the material to which the fastener is attached toaccommodate the fastener-engaging part.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,904,306 Gookin Apr. 18, 1933 1,957,463 Lawson May 18, 1934 2,371,813Fenton Mar. 20, 1945 2,630,935 Gookin Mar. l0, 1953

